Easier Christmas Songs-

[Bill Myrick]

Do all Holiday and winter theme songs have difficult minors, augmenteds this and that --that an old 4 chord country man has no idea about, in them ? I need some ideas on some Christmas hymns, winter songs, etc beside Jingle Bells that are easier to play ??

[Donny Hinson]

Bill, most of the standard Christmas songs can be played using 3 or 4 chords. Some were written with more chords, but most use them more for embellishment than anything else. Some of the simpler ones (that only "need" 3 or 4 chords) I can think of are...

Silent Night
Away In A Manger
Jingle Bell Rock
Good King Wenceslaus
White Christmas
Blue Christmas
Joy To The World
The First Noel
Silver Bells
Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree
Deck The Halls

There's probably many more, too!

[Cal Sharp]

Yeah, I've noticed that, too. A lot of Christmas songs are like the later Beatle songs - full of odd chord progressions that are hard to play along with on the fly. But Silent Night is fairly safe - I only play it one week a year and can usually pull it off without having to rehearse it.

[Ron Page]

Buddy did an entire CD that also came with a tracks tape, which I've migrated to CD, and tab book. It's called "Christmas Sounds of the Steel Guitar".

Ernie Renn still offers that one herefor $25 and I think that includes shipping. Looks like you can get the tracks already on CD.

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HagFan

[Les Pierce]

I don't know about "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree". I don't think you're going to pull that one off in 4 chords.

Les

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Strat,Tele
Dekley S-10

[Mark Metdker]

I worked up White Christmas last week in about an hour. Much easier than I thought it would be. I have never worked up christmas tunes before. It was kinda fun.

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Zum U-12 w/True Tone pickup
G&L guitars
Peavey Nashville 112

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[Darvin Willhoite]

"Silver Bells" was one of the first songs I played in front of a crowd, years ago. It is pretty simple and slow, so thats a good one to start. My favorite Christmas song is "Oh Holy Night" its a little more difficult but really pretty played on the steel. If you use Band-In-A-Box, there are lots of Christmas songs available for that.

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Darvin Willhoite
Riva Ridge Recording

[Bob Hickish]

Darvin
Maybe we could get Gene Jones
to do "Oh Holy Night" for us again
How Bout it Gene ! The one your
backing up your faveorite singer
Bob

[Leon Grizzard]

This reply is awfully tardy, but I kept forgot y password at home, where I saw the topic.

Anyway, this season my band worked up three Christmas songs, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, White Christmas, and Winter Wonderland. One the one hand they were not all that complicated, but on the other hand they were complicated enough for us to have to spend most of three or four practice sessions to figure out and agree on chords, and then work out and practice our arrangements.

We really loved playing them; it sounded so loungey. Well worth the effort, especially Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. I have wanted to play tunes like that in a band for years. Start early next year and do it.

[Gene Jones]

Bob, in reference to your post, I have been on the phone several times recently to radio stations in California who were playing that song and attributing it to me.

I didn't sing it, but with the response overwhelming the switchboards of California radio stations, I surely wish that I had recorded it!

You may have heard some of my radio interviews on California radio stations disclaiming any credit for that song. No one yet has been successful in determining the origin of that recording....BUT IT WASN'T ME!

www.genejones.com